With a little help from my friends

So I've been watching the Wonder Years on Netflix's instant streaming these days, usually when I am still up after feeding the girls and am glued to my milking machine.  To get an idea of how much I pump, let's just say I noticed that tonight, er, this morning (5:45 am) I started episode 100.  So that's 100 times of hearing the intro song "What would you do, if I sang outta tune"...which, let's be honest, I was getting rather tired of hearing.  But then, this morning it dawned on me; "a little help from my friends" is what's been getting me/us through these past few months!

To explain, the past 2 days have been difficult.  The girls have been extra fussy during the day and I'm doing my typical song and dance of setting unrealistic expectations for myself; feeling like I'm not doing enough, blah blah blah...things like, "I should be breastfeeding the girls", "Am I bonding equally with both Etta and Elsie?" and "Am I doing enough for their development?"...you know, along with trying to carry the weight of the world.  Top that with having the desire to bake a pumpkin and pecan pie for thanksgiving, trying to keep up with my social life and oh yeah, work on shedding that baby or "babies" belly and then realize I have 0, zilch, nada energy for any of that, I start beating myself up.  Which then spirals out of control because then I feel guilty for even feeling feeling stressed because of how blessed we are and how much worse things could be.  Like I called Pete at work yesterday when I was at the end of my rope, in tears, frustrated that I couldn't stop the girls from crying after feeding and changing them, and he tells me later that he is working on a guy's furnace who is home on bed rest and recently diagnosed with cancer.  Wow, talk about perspective.  But I am realistic in that I realize having 2 babies is a major challenge...it just makes me feel guilty for feeling overwhelmed when I take a minute to step in someone else's shoes.

Anyway, bottom line is that "with a little help from my friends" is what has gotten us through!  Friends meaning family and friends, of course.  I don't know what I would do without my mom and mother in law spending nights over here.  I am so grateful we live so close to both our families and that our parents are so devoted to helping us.  Faith has gotten me through.  Counting my blessings has gotten me through.  A little coffee every morning and a glass of wine a few times a week has gotten me through.  Talking to my friends has gotten me through.  Learning to say or even text someone "I'm too tired to talk right now, but thanks and know how much I appreciate it" has gotten me through.

I can be my own worst enemy and set so many ridiculous expectations on myself.  Motherhood has already taught me to focus on what's important and not sweat the small stuff.  It's hard for me to accept that, but getting a tad easier day by day.  And, of course, with a little help from my friends.

Blessed.

As I sit here in the dark at 3:12 AM pumping, listening to my two little angels wrapped up after their feeding grunting away and smiling in their sleep, I thought I should finally write an update on how things are going!  As sick as I am of pumping, sitting here and listening to them is just music to my ears and I can't help but to count my blessings and end up feels just overwhelmingly, well...BLESSED!

Life has been a whirlwind and on Thursday I can't believe they are going to be 3 months old!  They change daily...the past few weeks they've been totally off their "2, 6, 10" feeding schedule.  Dr. says this is normal and are probably going through a growth spurt (aren't they always until they become adults?!)  Anyway, sure, things have been exhausting and challenging...but overall, when I look back, its funny how I seem to forget the sleep deprivation and frustrating nights with crying girls and just feel so thrilled.  The girls' have given me a renewed faith.  Honestly, I was so out of touch with my faith basically since I've graduated high school...so it is so refreshing to now have daily reminders of the miracles that God is capable of providing.  I can't even believe how incredible Etta and Elsie are.  The fact that we all are here is truly a miracle.  When I'm feeling discouraged by all the icky news on tv or exhausted , I try to focus on the miracle of babies and things always start to look up :-)

About a week ago, a nurse was out giving the girls their synegis shots (a shot typically given to preemies to prevent RSV as we enter the winter months).   Etta weighed 10 lbs 2 oz and Elsie weighed 11 lbs.  They are getting so darn big!!!!  Their wrists are starting to get chub around them and their thighs...oh boy!  Tons of folds and chub on their thighs :-)  I can't kiss their chunky little cheeks enough.  I LOVE giving them baths...and they both love getting them!  And as similar looking as they are, its crazy how different they are!  Etta's expression appears more curious and whereas Elsie's appears more calm and content.  Etta typically always wakes up first and usually winds up with lots of little grunts that sound like the cowardly lion's "grrrrrruff, grrrrrufff" and Elsie tends to wake up second and goes right in to a full fledged, hearty cry.  Sometimes they can both go from 0 to 60 so quick and cry so hard its pathetic.  They sure do both have strong sets of lungs!  They are starting to wake each other up when they cry now and when they are alert and hanging out on their activity mat together they are starting to really be aware of each other...its so cute!

Things I've really been trying to do with the girls several times a week if not daily:
-Walks...I take them on walks around the neighborhood; its been fun listening to the crunchy leaves under the stroller and feel the sun we've been so lucky to have out on our faces.  Usually the girls will sleep, but they seem tickled whenever we go for a stroll.
-Reading to them...we read lots of different books but they seem to enjoy chapter books the most.  We snuggle up in the rocker in their bedroom and get lost in the words.  I've read them "Charlotte's Web" and now we are about halfway through "Little House on the Prairie"
-"Wearing them"...and by that I mean hanging out in the baby bjorn, sling or together in the Moby wrap (which is a big piece of fabric I can strap around myself and still get both the girls nestled in together)
-Document...I try and take tons of pictures (and forgive me for not posting them as often as I'd like) and write in my "mom's one line a day" journal.  Its a great way to quick write down what happened each day, which is already so neat to go back and read.

I'd love to write more but I must put my cuties back in their cribs and try and sleep myself...however, I'm going to try and blog a bit more frequently as its really a good outlet for me.  :-)

Hope you all are doing well.  Love you!
-Beck

Roller coaster of love!

It's been a while...that's because we've been devoting all of our time and love to our wonderful daughters!  Since the girls have been born I feel as though I've been on a "roller coaster of love", meaning that I just have soooo much love oozing out of me no matter what is going throughout on all the "ups and downs".  Ups=the precious moments: all the alert, wide eyed moments where I can tell the girls are taking it all in, anytime I'm kissing the girls, watching them sleep, getting pooped on (yes, this is an up as it makes me laugh profusely).  Downs=the more exhausting and tiring moments like when I can't calm them down fast enough and they won't stop crying (which surprisingly hasn't been that often, knock on wood) or when I worry too much about all the "what-ifs" which deep down I know don't get me anywhere worrying about.  That kind of worry is something many parents described to me before I had the girls that is impossible to imagine until the second you become a parent.  I was blessed with a love stronger than I had ever fathomed and it is so strong it makes me hurt sometimes! 


The girls are doing phenomenal...I thank God everyday for our little blessings.  Yesterday they had a pediatrician appointment...Etta weighed in at 7 lbs. 1 oz and measured 19.25 inches long.  Elsie weighed in at 7 lbs. 12 oz and measured 20 inches long!  Doc says he is super impressed with the girls and that we are doing a great job.  He says he can tell we are staying low key and calm and not freaking out...apparently some parents can be control freaks?  What?  No, not me...I thought to myself :-)  Truth is, having twin babies has really taught me how to be okay with rolling with the punches.  I tend to be the type A, always wanting to have a plan...and I learned when the girls were in the hospital that I had to let go of that.  I wanted a clear cut answer on what type of schedule to follow for breastfeeding, exactly how much, etc.  When the nurses were all giving me answers and the Dr. actually used the term "ad lib" feed them, I learned that I was going to have to be ok with not having it all under control.  And you know what?  It's so much more fun this way.  I LOVE BEING A MOM and I have the best partner in the world to parent with!  Pete is so wonderful.  Can't believe he is turning 30 on the 3rd of October!  Seems like I just threw him the superhero surprise 25th party!


My favorite things about our girls...well everything really, but some highlights:
-They grunt ALL the time...which sounds HILARIOUS on the monitors and we've learned don't always mean they need something...they do it in their sleep most often.
-Taking them on walks...every time their cute little hats fall down over their face they look so cute and peaceful taking in the fresh air.  
-Tummy time, especially when they are laying next to each other...they just gaze at one another and seem to connect.  Often they will grunt back and forth, almost as though they are communicating.
-Bath time...they LOVE this!  I had my first "mom of twins" moment the other day.  Etta was all done with her bath cleaned up and snuggled outside the bathroom door observing me bathing Elsie.  I had somehow managed to spill Etta's bath water ALL over the bathroom so I stripped down to just my tank top and undies.  I have two dripping wet bath towels laying on the bathroom floor. As I have soap lathered up all over Miss Elsie, I hear a car door, then my phone rings, then a knock on the door.  Crap...I look out and it's my dad!  He doesn't hear me shouting from the bathroom "can't answer the door, got a slippery baby!", so I pick Elsie up, lay her against me DRIPPING wet and catch my dad's eye through the window to say, hang on I got a slippery baby!  I can only imagine how many more times this is going to happen.  :-)
-Tandem tooting...Grandma Ellen came up with this term the other day...I love it!  They totally toot back and forth and I SWEAR it can be as loud as an adult flatulating, hehe!
-Snuggle time...enough said.  It's so special and amazing and I love when their arm hangs over my shoulder and I just smell their cute lil noggins.  
-Watching them sleep...they can be just out cold and laying peacefully or going through REM making awesome little faces.
-When their eyes are open...Elsie tends to really lock eyes with me and gazes ever so peacefully all around.  Etta tends to be moving her eyes all over, wrinkling her forehead a lot :-)
-Feeding time...they root so hard sometimes they can't even get the bottle in their mouths.  And Pete calls them "barber shop quartets" when we try and snug the burp rag under their chins so their "beards" of milk don't pool into their neck folds and settle in to leave a stinky surprise for later :-) (Even though some always manages to drip away from us!)


I'm sure I could go on forever but as for now, I gotta go feed my little piglets who are grunting away.  Love to you all.  Thanks for everything you all are doing, whether it be making us meals, visiting and helping care for the girls or thinking/praying for us.  
-Beck

It's all about the babies now!!

Many of you have asked why there hasn't been a new post on the blog lately.  Well . . . it's all about the babies now!  Since the moment Etta and Elsie arrived, Becky and Pete have been fully immersed in their care, so I, Grandma Sue, will once again attempt to capture the essence of the latest events in the Slabiak family. 

Since her last posts on the blog, Becky was discharged from Abbot-Northwestern, but the babies remained  at Children's Hospital under the awesome care of the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) staff.  Though it was very hard to go home without the girls, Becky and Pete felt grateful for the awesome care the girls were receiving at Children's.  Becky has done amazing job conquering the challenge of producing enough milk to feed two babies, though this means she spends a huge majority of her day hooked up to a hospital grade breast pump (she says she feels like a "cow" on a milking machine!!)  Pete has managed to put in a full day of work, get down to the hospital each night so that he can spend time with his girls and even help Becky keep up with the "pumping" by washing supplies, etc.  They make an amazing team!

By August 24th, the girls were gaining weight and doing so well they were able to move out of the intensive support of the NICU to the ICC (Infant Care Center).  In this unit, the girls were able to be in one room rather than two (much better for Becky and Pete).  Though she is the smaller one, Etta has led the way in getting them off IV's by persisting in pulling her IV out until staff said she no longer needed one.  Her latest feat was was to pull her feeding tube out and even though she can't quite go without that yet, it probably won't be long.  Both girls are making wonderful progress.  They are now in "cribs" rather than "isolettes" - (aka "incuabtors") are continuing to gain weight!  Elsie now weighs 5 lbs. 15 oz. and Etta is 5 lbs. 6 oz.  Though they are "identical', they have unique looks and personalities that charm and delight all who lay eyes on them. 

Over the past few days, the girls have begun making the transition to nursing and bottles.  Becky is "on call" for feeding most of the day and night, so it is getting trickier to figure out good times for visitors and time to answer emails, phone calls, etc. is limited.  Tonight Becky will sleep at the hospital so that she can be available to feed as the babies and Becky work to transition the girls off their feeding tubes and on to regular nursing and bottle feeding.  Becky and Pete love hearing from everyone, but hope all of their friends and family know that it may be a little tough to communicate over the next few weeks. 

Thank you everyone for all of the wonderful support you have given Becky and Pete!

Music for the girls!

I can't figure out how to get this playlist to be added to my blog...but here is a link to listen to songs we'll be playing for the girls!

http://www.playlist.com/bslabiak

"Where are my babies :-) ?!?!?!"

Ok, so here's just another perfect example of how fantastically well I was taken care of at the hospital.  The main nurse, Rochelle that helped Dr. Fairbanks with my c-section made a special trip at the end of her shift to come and see me during my last day at the hospital.  How excited and special she made me feel!  She is just the sweetest person with the most warm smile you could ever imagine.  I'll never forget she was one of the first people that greeted me once I got to labor and delivery via the stretcher and she just greeted me with a gorgeous smile and told me everything was going to be alright-I'll always remember that.  I also chatted her ear off after I woke up from surgery and remember most of our conversation!  When Rochelle came to visit me, we hugged, chatted about the miracles that occurred and she looked at pictures.  She told me that she had to tell me something that she doubted anyone had told me yet...first off she described that she will never forget Pete, the girls, my family and me.  She described waiting for me to show up and the entire OR team's heart is beating out of their chest in anticipation for a major emergency delivery and was expecting a very scared couple to show up.  Instead, she said she just couldn't believe how calm and cool we were and most importantly, how much we were smiling!  But the main thing she wanted me to know was that after the surgery was over, not even 10 minutes later, when I woke up, I was smiling and talkative.  She said that she wanted me to know that almost always when a patient goes under emergency anesthesia so quickly that when they come out of it they are fighting, irritable and confused.  I was quite the opposite!  Apparently, the first words out of my mouth were in a cheerful, childlike innocent sound and I said, "Where are my babies?!"  She said everyone laughed and assured me that they were right around the corner getting taken care of and that they were beautiful.  I guess then I started almost questioning where they were in like a peekaboo manner going, "Where are they?  I don't see them?  Where are my babies?"  I vaguely remember asking about where they were but will NEVER EVER forget when they wheeled the little isolete over to my bedside with both of them together.  I'm so glad that Rochelle stopped by...she said she told her husband that she had new names for their next baby and he said, "those are awesome names, but we aren't having any more babies" :-)  I remember her telling me about her 2 happy little ones when I was in recovery.  Anyway, after having a surprise, unnecessary visit from her, Dr. Fairbanks and having one of my nurses tell me, "your room will now forever be Etta and Elsie's room in my memory", I couldn't feel more blessed and like I totally was in the right place to have had my babies.  I will go back for our next baby(ies...who knows? Chances do increase once you've had multiples...hehe) when we have another, which Pete told me he wants to start trying for right away :-)  He did note that he's probably having that "marathon-like" high after the race and will evaluate how soon he wants to wait once the little pipsqueaks are home.  Just another example of how blessed we are with wonderful people in our lives.  I will be sending thank you's, pictures and continued correspondence with the entire OR and NICU delivery teams.

The woman/angel who saved our babies!

Dr. Lea "SUPERSTAR" Fairbanks!

I got to see the doctor who delivered our babies today!  She came into my room, we hugged and we chatted for about a half hour!  I just had to post this amazing woman's photo so I can share my happiness.  She is a woman of great strength, faith and smarts.  I tried to tell her everything I've been feeling and really let her know how much I valued and appreciated everything she did.  She was very modest about receiving compliments but really focused on the success of the TEAM.  I could carry on all day but I'm going to keep it short and sweet...she cried, I cried, we talked about faith, hope, love...everything.  It was amazing and I'll never forget her.  Then...she ran into my mom in the hallway as my mom was just getting here-Dr. Fairbanks made a point to stop and talk to her!  They talked for a while alone which I thought was great.  One quick detail about both of our conversations...Dr. made a point to comment on my brother Marcus.  She said she noticed him the morning I delivered and was very struck and impressed by him.  She said he was the quietest one in the room but what she observed was his amazing smile (which she said I had too, nice) and sparkle in his eye.  She shared that she has an 18 year old that just entered the naval academy 6 weeks ago and that seeing young people that just exhibit promise and a bright future is why she does what she does.  How sweet and how right she is about Marcus!!!!  Marcus told my mom that part of the reason he decided to go to the U of M was because he wanted to be around when his nieces were born and part of their lives as their Uncle.  Gosh, a remarkable guy he is.  I am so happy that I had this time with Dr. Fairbanks and she told me she was too.  How wonderful life is.

Doubly blessed...

Hi everyone!  Wow, I can't believe how busy it is at the hospital!  I've put myself on a strict schedule of pumping every 3 hours...so far so good, but it takes commitment!  Between pumping, having visitors, visiting the girls as often as possible, getting checked on my nurse/Dr., and trying to keep up with pictures (and most importantly, labeling them so we won't forget which sweetie is which), I have NO free time!  So...I thank you all for your wonderful kind gestures, thoughts, calls, emails, texts, cards, gifts and most importantly...prayers; know that Pete and I appreciate them more than you'll ever know.  I wish I could have the ability to talk to each one of you but that isn't realistic at this point.  So I'll try and keep you updated via photos and blogs :-)

 

A lot of you have facebook, however, the below link allows anyone to view the facebook album...there are so far over 100 I think and we'll try to keep em comin.  I will email this link out whenever we've added more to the album.  I'm going to keep all the photos in one album for now just for simplicity.  And I'm not really going to type much on each picture other than their names in the sake of time.

 

So, here's the link...you DO NOT need facebook to view these photos.  It just brings you to the album...I'm so glad this is an option!  Way better than sending photos via attachments or even creating another site...since I've got double responsibility I'm now learning how to do things efficiently and this is one way I can do that!

 

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1923881373573.2095363.1138277873&l=18e55f4d69&type=1

 

Also, I'll try and do a blog update sometime this week hopefully.  Just a reminder to those of you I may have recently added, the link to the blog is:

www.theslabiakscoop.blogspot.com

 

All I can say is that Pete and I are self proclaimed "crack" addicts for our daughters.  We tried it once and are now forever addicted and can't live without it :-)  The love we have for them is absolutely indescribable and can't be explained.  I never knew it was possible to love someone(s) so much. 

 

I've been pretty emotional about how miraculous their birth was.  MANY nurses, doctors, hospital staff have made it a point to tell me how lucky we are to have everything turned out the way it did.  It could have turned out very differently and it makes me physically ill when I think about it.  This is the first parenting lesson I've learned...you can't sit and ponder on the "what ifs" because you'll drive yourself insane.  I remember feeling this way when I had the miscarriage in November and when I got pregnant again in January I had a pep talk with myself in that some things are just completely out of your control and you have to accept that otherwise it's going to be a really exhausting, challenging ride.  I'll tell you one thing...I've always believed in God but this experience has absolutely taken any possible doubts away that I may have ever had.  I feel the urge to praise God and work on developing a stronger connection with Him...my faith has been refreshed and I know I'm going to absolutely need to continue to work hard at strengthening it as we begin the wonderful journey of parenthood.  Pete feels the same way about this as well.  Realizing all this is another major blessing about having our two BIG blessings.  It also has allowed us to understand just how truly amazing both of our sets of parents are.  I totally get the reasoning behind all of my parent's morals, concerns, overwhelmingly feeling proud moments of their children and reasoning for why they would choose to protect me against something, etc.  It makes perfect sense now.  And I must say, did you guys ever do a fabulous job of setting proper boundaries and choosing what/what not to be overprotective about.  Whew, quite the reflection I just shared.  I just have felt so overwhelmed with thanks I don't know how to express myself!

 

I MUST go sleep for an hour and a half and then I'm up to pump again...I am MOTIVATED to stay on a strict 3 hours schedule so I can feed ma babies!  I want chubby cheeks, knees and ankles to be in their near future! :-)

 

Love you all.  God bless each and every one of you...I know you've all been thinking and praying for us and it just goes to show the power of prayer.

-Beck

The story behind the names...

My boss was wondering if Etta was named after Etta James and in fact she partly is!  I sent her this lengthy explanation of the girl's names and then decided I should post it so everyone knows the stories!  


Part of the reasoning behind Etta's name is after Etta James!  I LOVE her and Pete even took me on a surprise date to see her at the MN State Fair a few years ago.  I am so glad we decided to name her Etta...we had Elsie Susan (Susan is after my mom) picked for sure the minute we knew we were having girls.  Elsie is just a name I've always adored.  We were planning on naming Etta either Isabelle and calling her Izzy for short for the first few weeks after finding out her sex but then I decided it was way too common.  So then, we switched to Addison around week 24 and planned on calling her Addie.  But a few days before I ended up on bed rest I woke up in the early morning around 5 and couldn't sleep because I decided I wasn't in love with the name and it was WAY too common.  I woke up Pete and he said he understood because we both had had many run-ins with little girl Addison's for the past several weeks.  So, I got on my phone and was searching names and then the name just came to me...and I knew it was the one.  Another neat aspect of her name is that when I was on bed rest at the hospital every time the girls would get monitored via the sensors strapped to my belly, baby b (or Etta) would kick, move, etc and always take forever to track her heart rate!  She even kicked the sensors off my belly several times!  I started calling her my little Houdini because she was so tricky to find.  One nurse said, oh you could call her Harriet (similar to Harry for Harry Houdini).  Then, when I was researching what Etta's name meant, I saw that it was derived from the names Harriet or Henrietta!  And Henrietta was Pete's great grandma's name!  Also, Etta means "Pearl" or "Little One"...how fitting because she is my little one, born first (even though she was supposed to be born second) at 3lbs 12 oz.  Elsie means "noble" or "my God is a vow/oath"...and noble is kind of how she has been acting all along...more patient than Etta to get out, much less fidgety in my belly and now since birth.  So, that's the story of their names...we love them :-)

Link to photos of our love bugs!

This link does NOT require you to have facebook but will allow you to view the album we've created!  I will repost the link whenever we add more pictures and try to post it on the blog or send an email. 
Enjoy!

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1923881373573.2095363.1138277873&l=18e55f4d69&type=1

WOW!! Things can happen fast!

As you probably saw, Becky posted a blog at about 12:30 this morning.  Well . . . just a little over three hours later, she was waking Pete, urgently telling him, "PETER, MY WATER JUST BROKE!!"  I (Becky's mom, Sue) will attempt to retell the "rest of the story" (though no one can top Becky in the storytelling department!). 

After her water broke, Becky called the doctor and was told to head into the hospital to be put on bedrest until the babies reached 34 weeks.  She and Pete started getting ready to go, but when Becky made one more stop in the bathroom, she discovered "something bulging" and realized that one of the umbilical cords was coming out ("prolapsed umbilical cord" = not good!!).  This time the doctor stated, "This is an emergency, call 911!"

Within minutes, Mounds View police (who are friends of Pete's buddy, Nick) showed up, with the ambulance not far behind.  With no time to spare, Becky left the house in only her tank top and underwear, and was told to get on all fours with her head down on the stretcher.  (Pete says he tried suggesting they cover her with a bathrobe, but things were moving too quickly).  Becky (who always finds a way to see the humor in situations) couldn't help but wonder what the neighbors would think. As the ambulance driver got ready to leave, he told Pete, "don't try to follow me, we'll meet you there". 

At approximately 4:20, my cell phone rang and I knew right away that "something was up" when I saw Pete's name on the caller ID.  In a very calm voice, Pete told me "we are on our way to the hospital".  As he filled me in on what had transpired, I suddenly realized that I could hear Becky's ambulance in the distance (we live about 2 miles apart, with 35W in between us).  Pete then said, hmmm, the ambulance must have gotten lost ... they are behind me!  (We learned later that even though Becky's plan was to go to Abbott Northwestern, they almost took her to Mercy Hospital because of the urgency of the situation (Mercy is closer, but Abbott is more equipped for this kind of emergency).  It sounds like they made a wrong turn and ended up realizing they might as well go to Abbott. (Becky is VERY relieved it worked out this way).

Because they had been in the hospital a few weeks ago, Pete knew right where to go and even got to the right place before Becky did!  When he arrived, he was greeted by a huge team of people who were ready to go the minute Becky arrived. Within minutes of Becky's arrival, the team determined that both babies had heartbeats and moved instantly into emergency cesearean.  Pete was instructed to put on scrubs, but by the time he was ready, he was already being told the news that he was the new daddy of two little girls!  (The whole procedure took about 3 minutes!). 

When it was all over, we learned that baby "B" (the one with the reputation of wiggling, turning, etc) is the one whose water had broke and whose umbilical cord was slipping out.  This situation put the baby in danger, and is what made the situation urgent.  Though the positions of A and B usually mean that A would come out first, B made it out first (and thankfully was ok!!).  This made things a little confusing for Becky and Pete because now the baby they considered to be "B" was being referred to as "A" and "A" was now called "B".  Since they had planned names related to each baby, they made sure to clear this up before announcing their names.

By the time Bob, Marcus and I arrived (about 5:10 a.m.), the babies were born and staff were thrilled with the outcome.  The doctor told us that she was thrilled with the way the paramedics and all of her staff had handled the emergency.  We were amazed that soon after we arrived, Becky was out of the operating room and chatting away with nurses and gushing to everyone about how "cute" Pete looked in scrubs!  (She kept smiling at him, touching him and saying, "Pete, you look so cute in scrubs!"  Everyone praised both Becky and Pete for their calmness through the whole situation. 

Here are the "stats" on our precious little angels . . .

Baby "1" (formerly known as Baby B):  Etta Ellen  (Ellen is for Pete's mom)
                                                            3 lbs. 12. oz.
                                                            4:51 a.m.
Baby "2" (formerly known as Baby A):  Elsie Susan (Susan is for me!  What an honor:)
                                                             4 lbs. 8 oz.
                                                             4:52 a.m.

The babies are receiving top notch care in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Gillette Children's Hospital.  Becky has taken one trip (in her bed) down the elevator, through a tunnel and up another elevator to see the babies.  Becky and Pete won't be able to hold the babies for awhile yet, but they are happy to know that they are receiving such excellent care.  According to hospital staff, the babies are doing pretty well considering their age (they delivered at 31 weeks).  They will be in the hospital for awhile as they continue to grow and develop. 

Because of the babies' premie status, visiting is limited.  Please check with Pete if you are thinking of visiting!

One more part of this story that should be told is that Pete's mom had surgery yesterday.  She is not going to be happy she missed this big event - she struggled with the decision to go ahead with the surgery, but as Pete said, better for her to get the surgery behind her so that she will be able to help when the babies come home.  We'll all just have to fill her in on the stories when she is recovering. 

Stay tuned for Becky's version of the story . . .  I'm sure it will be far more entertaining than mine!!!

"Grandma Susan"

My little mover and shakers

What a great day today was...my mom and dad came down to my weekly appointment with me and sat in on the ultrasound.  The best part was that this was the most fun ultrasound yet!  The tech was patient and awesome at explaining everything she was doing.  And...she even put it in 3D and 4D for a while.  HOW COOL, oh my gosh, we got to see what the girls looked like!  Baby A was able to stay still for us to get an AMAZING picture on print (unfortunately I couldn't get these on digital...but I think I'd rather keep from showing their cute faces until they are born).

I haven't posted a ton of ultrasound pictures during the pregnancy because they don't show up very well if I only get a printed copy which would mean I'd have to scan them.  But...today I asked the tech if I could get a few digital images and she got me some, even though I guess the perinatology clinic isn't supposed to give those out.  

A quick recap of the ultrasound; baby A is vertex on my right side (or head down) with her butt up near my right rib and feet curled under my left rib (super cozy for me, I know).  Baby B is breech but sits a bit lower under A's feet and then her feet go under A's head near my bladder (again, super comfy!).  I've been getting what's called weekly  BPP's (biophysical profiles) and NST's (non-stress tests) for about the past month now.  The babes each need to score an overall score of at least a 6 out of 10.  

-6 points are derived from the ultrasounds: 2 points for movement, 2 for breathing on their own-this can take a while to observe which is normal and 2 for fluid in their bladders and bellies which means they are swallowing, 

-The other 4 points are regarding the non-stress test which is when I get the 3 sensors put on my belly-1 monitors each baby's heart and the other monitors contractions)  I think 2 points is for reactive movement (meaning that they need to observe several heart rate accelerations which then return to their average heart rate) and I can't remember what the other 2 are for.  

Anyway, each appointment both my little sweethearts have scored 10 out of 10!  Sometimes it takes a while to get the heart rates captured because they'll kick so hard that they will literally knock the sensors off and then we have to start all over...but they always have came through getting it recorded in the allotted amount of time.  

Not to start any self-fulfilling prophecies but Baby B has always been my little trickster (aka original given nickname, "Trixy").  She is is my little Houdini and moves CONSTANTLY when being monitored making it very hard to track her heartbeat.  Often times the nurses will have to hold the sensor down with their hands because she'll kick the straps right off.  Baby A has often been bossy, (aka original given nickname, "Sassy"). We've observed her on ultrasound with her fist right up against Baby B's face and hogging the womb.  I wonder if this is what they'll be like when they get out?

Here are a few pics from today...

This first one is looking at a bird's eye view of baby a's face.  You can see her forehead, right eye socket, nose outline, chubby little cheek and blurry mouth.

This next photo is Baby A again kind of looking up from the bottom of her face. In the center of the photo you can see the bottom of her nose and even cute little nostrils!  I think the mouth shot is pretty cool too...

Obviously, this is baby a's profile :-)

Now here is baby b's profile...

And a similar face shot of the bottom of her nose and mouth.  (She is flipped from a...with her nose being more to the left whereas A's photo was taken of her nose more to the right to help you identify between the two.

And...just for fun...here is what they looked like not so long ago back in the beginning of April!  Look at the little peanuts, now they are almost fully grown infants!!!!!

Hope you enjoyed the photos.  Again, when I get the energy to blog, I just tend to spill it out.  I don't really check for grammar or spelling errors because I'm tired once I've typed everything.  Bear with the run on sentences :-)

Also, I think the next 2 posts I never emailed out or put the link up on facebook.  Click the "older posts" button on the right hand side to go back and read if you are interested.

Thanks everyone for all the prayers and support!  32 weeks will be here on Monday!  If I can hit that goal, great!  Then the major goal is for me to get to 34 weeks!!!

Stay classy, preggo mama

I'm not supposed to leave the house ever except for Dr. appointments.  On the way home my mom and I made a quick trip to Target on the condition that I'd use a wheelchair.  Last time I had to go to Target was on my way home from the hospital and it wasn't as big of a scene because Pete found a blue push one.  Today, I had to use the motorized cart which beeps when you back up.  HAHA!  Oh, the simple pleasures of being on bed rest while pregnant with twins.

Should I enter myself in the state fair?

I feel like I could win Farmer Brown a blue ribbon if I waddled myself into one of the barns at the state fair for largest pregnant mammal (which I am bummed I'll have to miss the fair this year, but I know I'd be miserable!)  Haha, ok so I'm really not beating up on myself for how big I'm getting...I know its normal to get huge with twins and I've even been complimented by many nurses that my belly looks great and am so lucky I don't have any stretchmarks!  But...some days especially when I'm laying in bed and have to get a rocking momentum worked up to be able to sit up, I truly feel like a cow (wait till I start nursing, I'll probably freak).  I just emailed my friend a message telling her that yesterday I got so hot that I felt like livestock in labor just trapped in a cage with no where to go on a hot summer day.  It took me that long to finally realize that it was time to turn on the air, as much as I loved having the windows open and fresh air!

Anyway, sometimes I feel a bit bizarre posting pictures of my huge belly but figured it isn't often that many people are pregnant with twins and it helps me keep my positive attitude if I can try to find the humor in it. Plus, it helps me to try and document this experience so I can one day have proof to show the girls!  So, here are some pics (don't say I didn't warn you...)

The first 2 photos are at 28 weeks...this was about an hour before I had my first major "oops" and peed my pants from laughing so hard from watching "Weekend at Bernies"...ha!

This is my friend Amy and me at our friend's Tracy and Mark's wedding.  I was 2 days shy of being 29 weeks.  By the way, the dress I wore that night fit below my knees when I bought it about 2 months prior.  When I put it on that day it only hit about halfway down my thighs...so I had to wear leggings underneath! 

 

 Here I am today, 31 weeks and 3 days.  UFF DA!  And when I'm at home on bedrest it's usually glasses and no make up

Let's pray my little munchkins stay inside for at least another 2.5 weeks (YIKES, imagine my belly then!) 34 weeks is my ultimate goal!

A few stories

I wanted to post a few funny stories from this past week before they slipped from my memory:

-About 2 weeks ago I was at the OB for a checkup and my Dr. asked what my plans were for the weekend.  I told her that we were planning to go visit my sister in law and her family up in Pelican Rapids and that we couldn't wait to see them.  Immediately the smile she had on her face turned into a frown.  She said that she would be very worried if we decided to drive 4 hours up north with how far along I was in my pregnancy.  I hadn't even really worried about it, although my mom had mentioned she was concerned (mother always knows best!).  Dr. Mattson said that if I went into early labor that the closest hospital, Fergus Falls, would not know what to do with me and it would result in a helicopter ride right back down to the hospital.  After much lamenting, Pete finally called and told Amanda.  I felt so sad.  But...on Sunday morning at 6 am as I was being told I'd be in the hospital for at least 48 hours I was counting my blessings!  Pete mentioned to the on call perinatologist about our prior plans and he laughed and said "you'd be on a spendy helicopter ride right now!"

-I never mentioned in my previous blog about my dancing partner.  That is, my IV tower.  Boy, was I glad to get that thing removed last Tuesday.  I stubbed my toe on it a thousand times, got it kinked and tangled all the time and felt like I was unplugging/plugging it in all the time.  But still, it was my dancing partner and I'm sure whenever I'm back in the hospital we will be serenading once more!

-When Pete was about to leave before I spent my first night in the hospital, I asked him to take me for a spin on the wheelchair around the floor just for a change of scenery.  He went out to the lobby to get a wheelchair and thought he'd ask the nurse if it was ok.  She said, hmmm, I don't think that she has "wheelchair privileges at this point, but let me check".  After checking she said, "yep, no wheelchair privileges yet".  Pete came back in with a silly grin on his face to tell me this and we both got a good laugh out of the deal.  When I left my room on Wednesday evening, I sure was happy to see a wheelchair waiting for me.  It was the first time I left my room since Sunday!

Whoa nelly!

Here's a quick update...I had started a much more detailed one but then it got lost :-(

Pete, my parents and I spent all day Saturday doing tons of stuff to get the house ready for the girls!  I found a great recliner on craigslist (to replace my sleeping in our lawn chair!), we got the closets moved, my dad and Pete started installing new doors on the bathroom and nursery. 

After a long day, I set up camp on the recliner to relax and catch up on some "Dexter" and noticed my mid/lower back starting to ache.  I tried going to bed and was up from 12-5 AM on and off.  Finally, I decided to call the doc.  After giving my symptoms, he said that I should come in!  I thought for sure I was being over reactive but Pete said that he heard something in my voice that concerned him when I said "Something just doesn't feel right".

It sure is weird walking through Abbott at 5:30 in the morning on a Sunday..normally its such a busy village, like its own city, but that morning it was a ghost town!  We arrived to the 6th floor labor and delivery unit and shortly the nurse discovered I was in labor...almost 3 cm dilated and having contractions.  The perinatal on call dr. came in and explained I would start on magnesium sulfate "mag" for 48 hours.  Whoa!  I was shocked!  The nurses gave me several different iv's to prep me one which made me feel uncontrollably shaky!  Around 8 am I got moved to a different room on the same floor and got hooked up to monitors for several hours watching both babies heart rates and my contractions.  The girls heart rates have stayed strong the whole time I've been here.  I was having some contractions mainly in my back.

Around 3 PM on Sunday I moved down to the 5th floor (called the antepartum/preterm labor unit).  What a refreshing place and I've gotten to stay here ever since.  The room is way bigger with a beautiful view of downtown (versus the brick building I had before), supplied with a refrig, microwave, working tv remote (yay!) etc.  Every nurse I've had since I've been on the 5th floor has been wonderful.  I feel SO safe here and well taken care of. I've even got to have several of the same nurses twice which is great.

So since Sunday afternoon I was told that I'd be on bedrest for the remainder of my pregnancy...just not sure if it would always be in the hospital or if I'd get to go home at all...time would tell.  Sunday night was a rough night of sleep...and I can't believe how much I was peeing!  Monday I was kind of out of it all day...but I saw the on call doctor from the perinatal clinic (which is where I go and is also attached to this hospital!) and a nurse....they both told me that on Tuesday I would get to go off the iv and switch to an oral med, nifedipine and see how myself and the babies did on that.  Nifedipine is a cardiac drug often used to lower blood pressure (which thankfully mine has stayed low so far) but often used to help stop labor.  They told me that if all went well I'd possibly get to go home and be on bedrest by Wednesday.

Even though I was spent by the end of Wednesday, it was a fun night.  Pete gathered my lengthy list of stuff from home and ran a few errands.  Bless his heart...he is being SO patient and is already being SO good with the girls!  Kendall and Derrick stopped by and we had a great visit with them-they brought Pete and I some goodies (magazines for me and a twins dad shirt for Pete). Then Ellen and Tom stopped by to visit with some gorgeous flowers (hydrangeas, my fav and roses) and yummy fruit!  What nice visits we had with both of our visitors.  Then, Pete then helped me take a shower (which felt AMAZING) and got me settled into bed.  I hadn't slept more than about 6 hours since I'd been at the hospital so when the nurse offered a mild sleeping aid I accepted.  What an AMAZING night of sleep I got!  It felt SO good!  I only got up twice to go pee (compared to the hourly visits the nights before, no joke) and slept from about 10:30-8:45! 

Today (Tuesday) has been a fabulous day.  I had a yummy breakfast and then was taken off the iv!  Babies are moving more for sure now since they are off the mag (which was slowing them down).  I  got monitored around 11 am and haven't had any contractions yet!  Dr. Fairbanks (who I saw yesterday as well) came in and was very hopeful saying all looked well and the plan will be for me to go home on Wednesday! 

I spent the morning catching up on getting LOA stuff figured out for work, communicating, online browsing/shopping :-) (no purchases made, just for fun!), watching HGTV and chatting on the phone.  Around 1 PM I got some surprise visitors...my Grandma Shirley and Grandpa Lloyd!  What a huge smile that ran across my face when I saw them!  My Grandpa is SO close to getting his prosthetic leg so the fact that they made the trip down here when it isn't very convenient meant the world to me!  We just all had a great time chatting.  I could have sat and talked with them for hours...they mean SO much to me and are such inspiring people!

Now, I just finished lunch.  I will say, the hospital food ain't so bad!  I order it through room service and there are tons of options.  I'm fallen in love with getting a side of cooked carrots and having vanilla pudding as dessert...both hit the spot!

My friend Anne and her mom, Sue are going to come visit in a little while.  I'll get some great advice/stories I'm sure from Sue (the mom of my twin friends, Anne and Sarah) about being pregnant with twins.  She went on bedrest too and I still can't believe carried twins.  She is very petite and about half my height! 

I'll try and keep you all updated via the blog.  We appreciate everyone's thoughts, concerns, prayers, reaching out for help.  We can't begin to thank our families for all they have done for us throughout this entire pregnancy.  Both of our moms dropped everything they were doing on Sunday when we called them and went over to our house and cleaned/organized.  How blessed are we that our families get along so well together. 

If I don't get back to you right away, I apologize.  My mom is a good person to contact and my friend Kendall has volunteered to answer any questions as well (Kristin, thanks for your offer too...sorry we haven't touched base yet!)  Text me if you'd like their contact info.

I'm trying to relish in the opportunity to get stuff lined up and organized before the babes are here.  My thoughts are often scattered so bear with me and all the grammar on these blogs. :-) Love you all so much!

Love,
Becky, Pete and the girls :-)

More pics from the Schroeder/Slabiak shower!

Amanda, my wonderful sister in law and me

The amazing table settings that looked like it came straight out of a castle in Europe somewhere!

From left to right: Sister in law Maria, me, cousin Kris Urman, Aunt Nancy Schroeder, cousins Allana and Karin Olson, Aunt Jane Olson, my mom

Starting at bottom left going clockwise: Cousin Katie Urman, Niece Laney, Aunt Pat Schroeder, Aunt Nancy Schroeder, Cousin Kris Urman, Cousin Cassidy Urman 

Another fabulous table setting!

Thanks Ellen for getting these photos to me so quickly!

Pictures

Here are a bunch of pics in no particular order...Enjoy :-)
The first batch is from the Schroeder/Slabiak shower:

Me, My amazing Mother-in-law Ellen and adorable niece Isla!

My pretty, saint of a Mommy and me!!

My sweet sister-in-law Maria and me!

I think this was 25.5 weeks

The AMAZING cake made by Pete's talented cousin, Allana Olson.  Beautiful AND delicious!

My precious niece Laney with the gifts (car seat accessories!) she picked out for "Trampolina and Plomey" and me

Just one of the many GORGEOUS floral arrangements my amazing sister-in-law Amanda created for the shower!  Funny, it's like twins!

Here are a few from Marcus' grad party in late June...I know there must be a family pic with Marcus in it but I couldn't find one at this time...

My handsome hubby with his first taste of getting generously inundated with baby clothes!  Look how sweet and excited he looks.  THANK YOU to my Auntie Ann who brought down TONS of amazing clothes she found!  THANK YOU THANK YOU!

My awesome Grandpa Frank and me at my little bro Marcus' grad party.  He and Pete were the pig roast carving masters all day :-) 

Here are some randoms...

Daddy and Mommy to be at our little slice of heaven, Shell Lake, Wisconni!!!  In the lake 24/7 to stay cool with temps getting over 100! When we weren't in the lake I was laying on the couch with an industrial grade fan Pete borrowed from work blowing on me.  It sounded and looked like the kind from the cattle barns at the State Fair...I said I felt like livestock.  Lazy, big and immobile.  :-) I'm getting to that stage.

This is a 25 week shot

The cake from the dancing mom's shower!  It says "Twice as "Nice"!  How cute!

A few from the Twins themed shower in June...

These adorable outfits were given to me by my friend, Kaia-she found them on Etsy!  Matching onsie's are behind the bibs.  Once I held them up like this my mother in law Ellen got us all laughing hysterically when she referenced that they are to catch drips from nursing! HAHA!

Look how adorable this sign is!  How creative!

Yummy desserts and you can see the "concessions" like peanuts and popcorn in the background.

 Here are some pics from our great 4th of July spent at the generous hosts, Paul and Patti Madison's house.

Lissa, me, Dexter and Lissa's dad Paul

Paul, me, Ryan, Lissa, Pete and Patti (Lissa's mom)

Paul and my Dad in the background admiring Pete's 31-32+ inch northern that Pete caught!  What a fisherman!

Me and Lissa and Ryan's adorable pup who is turning 1 tomorrow, Dexter!

P.S.  I don't have a few pics that I want to post...One is of Amanda and me from the Slabiak/Schroeder shower on my camera!  I think it might be on Ellen's...so as soon as I can get my hands on that I will post it! There are some more pics from the Twins themed shower I'll post once I get my hands on them and also...the nursery is almost done...so once its complete I will post pics of that! :-)

Slabiak Sluggers

Slabiak Sluggers...that's what my girlfriends who threw me my baby shower in the end of June called the babes and I thought it was catchy!  They threw an adorable MN Twins themed party and decorated it all in baseball related decor.  It was so much fun and I appreciated everything they did to make it a great time! 

I myself feel like a "Sluggish Slabiak".  This makes sense as I am only 1 week away from the grand finale...the THIRD trimester! YAY!  I can't wait for them to get here but know it's not time for the girls to meet us yet.  Patience!  Anyway, since about a week and a half ago I really have popped (it seems like I keep saying that but then I get even bigger) and has made doing simple things like putting on pants, bending over and getting up out of the car or sofa very difficult.  Plus around that time, I've begun to experience the joys of heartburn.  Now, I must say all these slightly irritating symptoms are NOTHING compared to the nausea I had first trimester so I try to remind myself how much better this is. 

However, one downfall to all these current symptoms that I don't think I realized was affecting me so much was how terrible I've been sleeping.  I'm so used to being a champion sleeper my whole life (like how I can sleep anywhere, can always sleep in and let's not forget how I could sleep through industrial fire alarms my freshman year of college).  Well Becky, I think my 26+ year run of fantastic sleep is going to be just about over for a LONG time.  Now, I can't fall asleep because my chest burns so bad, I get up at least 3-4 times a night to pee and usually always at some point have a small snack accompanied my bizarre preggo craving of a glass of milk.  Not to mention all the tossing and turning I do trying to find a comfy position on my side with the thousand pillows that have overtaken our bed.  Pete has been a great sport and I think is still sleeping OK from what he tells me. :-)  I have witnessed some pretty funny Pete sleep talking moments in the last few months.  One night he just started blurting the word "taco" out over and over again probably 20 times at least.  The other night he was talking about someone named "Crawl"...it proves to be pretty entertaining!

Anyway, last week after 2 particular really rough nights of sleep and feeling really crummy, I saw the doc and she gave me the go ahead to start taking a low dose of pepcid before bedtime...this has really helped and all weekend I was able to get some great shut eye in with a little less tossing and turning.  We spent a few days this week at Shell Lake with our great friends Ryan and Lissa  and their adorable pooch, Dexter (how cool that they chose to spend their one year anniversary with us!).  We had a great time however the last day the heat got really bad.  With humidity it felt like 103.  Lis, Dexter and I were planning on staying one more night but we decided the heat was too much.  We still had a fabulous time though!

Moving on, I'm badly overdue for a blog and part of the reason I procrastinate is because I elaborate so much on each detail.  So, I've decided to give a quick timeline of what's happened over the last month instead of writing a novel (which I already have done I notice, 5 paragraphs in...)
June:
-Friends threw me the MN Twins shower!  It was such a great time.  Lots of my friend's mom's were even able to attend which was wonderful being able to catch up with them and it also reconnected me to some old friends I hadn't seen in forever!  The girls did a great job with everything...the food, decorating, desserts, games...everything was perfect!
-Got together with the dancing mom's and those nice ladies collaborated and generously threw me a surprise shower at the gathering!  It was so much fun and so nice of everyone.  They had a diaper bag theme which was so cute and got me off to a good start on all the necessary supplies! The cake was adorable...it said "Twice as Nice" on it.  I think there is a picture of it floating on someone's camera that I must get to put in the girl's baby book!
-Had several ultrasounds at Abbott proving to all be very encouraging...the girls have been measuring/weighing almost exactly the same and the risk of TTTS is very low at this point.

July:
-Spent the 4th over at Lissa's parents, Paul and Patti Madison's house.  It was the girl's first time in the lake and they loved every minute!  I sported my one and only maternity swimsuit all day and it sure felt awesome being in the water.
-My sister in law Amanda (with the help of my mother and law and sister in law Maria) threw me a shower for the Schroeder/Slabiaks at Ellen's house.  It was beautiful!  Amanda spent the week's at her mom's house that week and put so much effort into the shower along with Ellen and Maria...everything from the flowers, table settings, food, gift giveaways...looked like it came from a fancy magazine.  Thanks everyone for making it so special!  Pete's cousin Allana made us a GORGEOUS cake as well...I'll post a pic.  She does this on the side and is SO very talented.  It was so special!
-Pete and I had our first of three "childbirth for multiples" class at Abbott.  It was very informative but also a bit tiring learning all kinds of new information.  We are thrilled we signed up for this specific class because of the approximate dozen other parents in the class, everyone is having twins with the exception of one couple that is expecting triplets! 
-Had another ultrasound at Abbott (finally, at this like 7th trip to Abbott I learned the best place to park!)  Both baby a and b are doing great.  However, just as we had suspected...baby b decided to change positions.  (We had felt a very odd, slow and hard movement a few mornings prior and were wondering if that's what had happened).  So...baby b is breech and baby a is vertex (head down).  The doc said that my chances of a natural delivery are probably low if they stay in this position...however, the girls can move several more times until about 32 weeks so nothing is set in stone.  For first time mom's it's difficult to try and deliver a breech baby when she's a twin because the risk of complications goes up with all the cords and there are other factors as well.  I'm just not going to lament over anything yet, because the plan is up to the girls and God!  I'm just the incubator :-)  The doc mentioned that often times the breech/vertex position is how twins will end up.  It just seems to help them "fit".  They're kinda like a ying yang!  So I can call them the "ying yang twins" for fun (which is a rap group, ha!)  Which reminds me, I'm going to write about some nick names we've developed...
-Nicknames:
     "Cute little potatoes" or "sweet potatoes"...this is what Pete likes to call them and I think it's adorable!  We play this song for them that my parents used to play for me called "Little Potato".  It's so sweet and often gets them dancing.  Sometimes when they are moving and Pete's talking to them, he will call them "you little STINKERS!" which I love :-)  I tend  to call my nieces and nephew this a lot.  Hopefully they don't take it to heart because it's my way of expressing my love for how "stinking cute" they are!
     "Sassy and Trixy"....My friend Kirsten at work thought of this one.  I love it because we've kind of associated baby a as being a bit of the womb hog and she was who I felt move first...so we've kind of given her the rap as being "sassy".  Trixy is baby b...because she for so long was curled up in the little room that baby a left her with and now how perfect that she, the little trickster, "Trixy"...switched on us!
     "The Jefferson's" (or Georgina and Weezy)...this is because one day my friend Michael at work asked me what size they were that current week and I said, "eggplant...they're movin on up!" He instantly thought of the Jeffersons!  LOL. Michael has come up with some great nicknames along the way...and often times has kindly brought in fruit/candy corresponding to the girls' current size of the week!  He even got me a delicious fresh squeezed lemonade from the Good Earth last week just because!  He also came up with "Pete's angels" since there are three of us for Pete like "Charlie's angels" and before we knew they were twins, since Michael knows I'm an avid office fan, was calling them "Jim and Dwight".  Mike, another friend from work suggested "Jimessa and Dwightina" once we found out they were both girls! Haha!
     I'm sure I've forgotten dozens of nicknames...so let me know if I did.  But perhaps my favorite nicknames thus far was determined by my 3.5 year old niece, Laney.  When she first found out there were two girls in my belly she thought of "Plomey and Clomey" or "Isla and Isla" (Isla is my niece/Laney's 1 year old sister).  Right before the Slabiak/Schroeder shower, she decided upon "Trampolina and Plomey" as their current names.  How adorable is this??!  I must mention that when Laney saw me for the first time in about a month last week I said, "Does my belly look bigger"?  She said, in this silly little voice, "IT LOOKS LIKE YOU HAVE A BIG WATERMELON IN YOUR BELLY!" Haha!  Kids say the darndest things.  Another cute quote was when she was showing my friends Tiff, Lissa and Ryan that she knew how to do yoga, Lissa said, "Do you know downward dog" and Laney started to do the post and then corrected her and said "Downward FACING dog!". 
-This isn't a nickname but another sweet comment that daddy to be said about the girls last night that almost brought a tear to my eye was, "They are the most beautiful things I never seen".  Awww...

Time to wrap it up...I'll keep ya posted if anything with the babies changes.  I'm going to upload some belly photos, etc.  It's hard to post ultrasound photos because they are getting so big that they aren't taking lot of pics of the girls together and they show up kinda fuzzy on screen.  Love to you all and thanks for everything everyone has done to help/support us along the way!

OH, and yes...on SIX different occasions we encountered double yolk eggs.  5 out of 6 were hard boiled and the last was when I was baking cake pops.  How crazy is that?!?!?!  We swear to God this is for real too...I know it seems unreal!